Russian Fairy Tales | Page 3

"Ausland," &c.
[6] Professor Reinhold Köhler, who is said to be preparing a work on
the Skazkas, in co-operation with Professor Jülg, the well-known editor
and translator of the "Siddhi Kür" and "Ardshi Bordschi Khan."
[7] In my copy, pt. 1 and 2 are of the 3d, and pt. 3 and 4 are of the 2d
edition. By such a note as "Afanasief, i. No. 2," I mean to refer to the
second story of the first part of this work.
[8] This book is now out of print, and copies fetch a very high price. I
refer to it in my notes as "Afanasief, Legendui."
[9] This work is always referred to in my notes as "Afanasief, P.V.S."
[10] There is one other recent collection of skazkas--that published last
year at Geneva under the title of "Russkiya Zavyetnuiya Skazki." But
upon its contents I have not found it necessary to draw.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY. PAGE. The Folk-tale in general, and the Skazka in
particular--Relation of Russian Popular Tales to Russian Life--Stories
about Courtship, Death, Burial and Wailings for the Dead--Warnings
against Drink, Jokes about Women, Tales of Simpletons--A rhymed
Skazka and a Legend 15
CHAPTER II.
MYTHOLOGICAL.
Principal Incarnations of Evil.

On the "Mythical Skazkas"--Male embodiments of Evil: 1. The Snake
as the Stealer of Daylight; 2. Norka the Beast, Lord of the Lower World;
3. Koshchei the Deathless, The Stealer of Fair Princesses--his
connexion with Punchkin and "the Giant who had no Heart in his
Body"--Excursus on Bluebeard's Chamber; 4. The Water King or
Subaqueous Demon--Female Embodiments of Evil: 1. The Baba Yaga
or Hag, and 2. The Witch, feminine counterparts of the Snake 75
CHAPTER III.
MYTHOLOGICAL.
Miscellaneous Impersonations.
One-eyed Likho, a story of the Polyphemus Cycle--Woe, the Poor
Man's Companion--Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday personified as
Female Spirits--The Léshy or Wood-Demon--Legends about
Rivers--Frost as a Wooer of Maidens--The Whirlwind personified as a
species of Snake or Demon--Morfei and Oh, two supernatural beings
186
CHAPTER IV.
MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT.
The Waters of Life and Death, and of Strength and Weakness--Aid
given to Children by Dead Parents--Magic Horses, Fish, &c.--Stories
about Brides won by a Leap, &c.--Stories about Wizards and
Witches--The Headless Princess--Midnight Watchings over
Corpses--The Fire Bird, its connexion with the Golden Bird and the
Phoenix 237
CHAPTER V.
GHOST STORIES.
Slavonic Ideas about the Dead--On Heaven and Hell--On the Jack and
the Beanstalk Story--Harmless Ghosts--The Rip van Winkle Story--the

attachment of Ghosts to their Shrouds and Coffin-Lids--Murderous
Ghosts--Stories about Vampires--on the name Vampire, and the belief
in Vampirism 295
CHAPTER VI.
LEGENDS.
1. Saints, &c.
Legends connected with the Dog, the Izba, the Creation of Man, the
Rye, the Snake, Ox, Sole, &c.; with Birds, the Peewit, Sparrow,
Swallow, &c.--Legends about SS. Nicholas, Andrew, George, Kasian,
&c. 329
2. Demons, &c.
Part played by Demons in the Skazkas--On "Hasty Words," and
Parental Curses; their power to subject persons to demoniacal
possession--The dulness of Demons; Stories about Tricks played upon
them--Their Gratitude to those who treat them with Kindness and their
General Behavior--Various Legends about Devils--Moral Tale of the
Gossip's Bedstead 361

STORY-LIST.
PAGE.
I. THE FIEND 24
II. THE DEAD MOTHER 32
III. THE DEAD WITCH 34
IV. THE TREASURE 36
V. THE CROSS-SURETY 40

VI. THE AWFUL DRUNKARD 46
VII. THE BAD WIFE 52
VIII. THE GOLOVIKHA 55
IX. THE THREE COPECKS 56
X. THE MISER 60
XI. THE FOOL AND THE BIRCH-TREE 62
XII. THE MIZGIR 68
XIII. THE SMITH AND THE DEMON 70
XIV. IVAN POPYALOF 79
XV. THE NORKA 86
XVI. MARYA MOREVNA 97
XVII. KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS 111
XVIII. THE WATER SNAKE 126
XIX. THE WATER KING AND VASILISSA THE WISE 130
XX. THE BABA YAGA 148
XXI. VASILISSA THE FAIR 158
XXII. THE WITCH 171
XXIII. THE WITCH AND THE SUN'S SISTER 178
XXIV. ONE-EYED LIKHO 186
XXV. WOE 193

XXVI. FRIDAY 207
XXVII. WEDNESDAY 208
XXVIII. THE LÉSHY 213
XXIX. VAZUZA AND VOLGA 215
XXX. SOZH AND DNIEPER 216
XXXI. THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE DNIEPER, THE VOLGA,
AND THE DVINA 217
XXXII. FROST 221
XXXIII. THE BLIND MAN AND THE CRIPPLE 246
XXXIV. PRINCESS HELENA THE FAIR 262
XXXV. EMILIAN THE FOOL 269
XXXVI. THE WITCH GIRL 274
XXXVII. THE HEADLESS PRINCESS 276
XXXVIII. THE SOLDIER'S MIDNIGHT WATCH 279
XXXIX. THE WARLOCK 292
XL. THE FOX-PHYSICIAN 296
XLI. THE FIDDLER IN HELL 303
XLII. THE RIDE ON THE GRAVESTONE 308
XLIII. THE TWO FRIENDS 309
XLIV. THE SHROUD 311
XLV. THE COFFIN-LID 314

XLVI. THE TWO CORPSES 316
XLVII. THE DOG AND THE CORPSE 317
XLVIII. THE SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE 318
XLIX. ELIJAH THE PROPHET AND NICHOLAS 344
L. THE PRIEST WITH THE GREEDY EYES 355
LI. THE HASTY WORD 370

RUSSIAN FOLK-TALES.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
There are but few among those inhabitants of Fairy-land of whom
"Popular Tales" tell,